Is Wired PC VR DEAD? Virtual Desktop vs Link Cable by AMVR

[@Jaxd9795]

there's a big difference that no one really talks about here, the oculus software uses like 2gb of vram while VD uses like 500mb

[@FluxNoise]

Airlink should have also be part of this comparison. It works better than Virtual Desktop on some setups.

[@theoldgitwatgames4640]

Have to admit, Virtual Desktop has the edge for me personally. Not sure what Voodoo Guy Godin uses to get the app to perform as well as it does across Oculus and Pico platforms but it works as good as the cable a lot of the time. I can't imagine playing Blade and Sorcery without the freedom of no tether. Though you won't get better image clarity than an uncompressed stream via display port etc, if you have the horsepower gpu wise Virtual desktop is getting very close.

[@HBOMB-nl9pw]

Keep hearing about all this, I have a 3060 and it works fine

[@FurkanNural-xy7fb]

@@HBOMB-nl9pw is there a lot of difference with airlink and steam link?

[@HBOMB-nl9pw]

@@FurkanNural-xy7fb I had more joy with steamlink and virtual desktop. They need to change the name of ‘virtual desktop’ it’s a bit misleading, especially when you work with actual azure virtual machines 😆 What made the difference was daisy chaining from my router to access point (couple feet from my quest) and that same access point Ethernet connected to my gaming pc that my quest is associated with. With this setup, it worked flawlessly. Had no issues as a result of this. I did have issues before doing this setup.

[@FurkanNural-xy7fb]

@@HBOMB-nl9pw Thanks for your reply. Virtual desktop is very expensive in my country, so I don't want to spend that much. I'm using the Steam link and airlink duo. That's why I couldn't decide if it was necessary. What is your opinion? And what do you think about the link cable connection I do not have a cable. Finally, on the steam link, my hands seemed to be lagging a little faster on the airlink. Thank you very much for your help

[@MacInVR]

@HBOMB-nl9pw That is the setup recommended by the developer Guy Godin 🤩

[@ReeksofChees3]

I use my Quest 2 with VD for VRChat so I can use my full body tracking. 120hz + SSW in VRChat is actually good for that IMO. And I use my Rift CV1 for everything else. Beat Saber, Population ONE, Contractors, VAIL, Bonelab, you name it!

[@aside30]

unfortunately the link wins on visual fidelity and latency if you have a good pc to support it. The link cable is set to bitrate at 200mbps (out of the gate) so comparing your test of 75mbps will be quite noticeable. And when using VD at 150 max mbps it comes with more much latency to get it closest to link visually.. Plus you can adjust the cable to go much higher than 200mbps, which is like having no compression at all. around 350-400 is the pocket. VD is still a great app for games that are better without a wire

[@MacInVR]

All good points, thanks 😊

[@phobos2077_]

This is absolutely not true. Compression is very much an issue even at 400mbps. Anyone saying otherwise are either lying, have vision problems or never actually experienced what artifact-free picture looks like.

[@jayr3053]

Agree. Link cable works better for me as well. AND my Quest 3 doesn’t die after an 1.5 hr of use. I always play seated so a cable is no problem for me.

[@Quest4Horror]

@@jayr3053what about games that require you to crouch manually? It’s much more immersive playing wireless pcvr.

[@xwar_88x30]

im confused with this comparison, you said the cable gives better fidelty, but looking at the side by side, the virutal desktop looks sharper, more detailed and has better colours compared to the link cable. I have recently bought virutal desktop and really enjoying it. The massive downside of using the cable over vd is that you cannot I mean cannot disabled aws which is a massive deal breaker for me. I have turned aws off through the debug tool, I cntrl+num1 in game and not matter what it cuts my frames in half, while vd doesn't do this and it seems to be able to completely disable asw within it's settings. I would much rather have my frames going from 70/80 fps at 90hz if frames were to drop a bit , than having aws drop to 35/36fps, using the cable. vd for me offers a much smoother experience and using the cable is just a bug fest with frame rates getting cut in half regardless of disabling it in the debug tool and using the hotkeys for in game.

[@ProgrammistMusic]

The latest Virtual Desktop version just blew me away. The performance increase is beyond anything i have seen before and even could keep up with my Pico 3 via Display Port at high quality setting. I also tested different USB-C calbles in the past and they did not make any difference at all compared to each other. Once they work and have a decent bitrate, which can be tested with the Oculus Software, there was no difference between them. Oculus Link could keep up with the quality quite well, but the new VD blew that out of the window. I am only using HEVC with a minimum of 100 Mbit, since HEVC provides about 1.5x to 2x the quality using the same bitrate as H264 and the difference in encoding/decoding latency is rather small. H264 at 90Hz with only 75Mbit could indeed show artefacts, even at medium resolution. With the new VD i can now play games like No Man's Sky at Godlike quality on the Pico 4, although NMS still needs to have fixed SSW on my systems (RTX 3070, RTX 3070Laptop, RTX 3060, RTX 2070S) to run smoothly enough. And since i am using the AMVR Pico 4 facial Interface which brings my eyes very close to the lenses the visual clarity is just too good to go back to the Quest 2 for these type of PCVR games.

[@ProgrammistMusic]

@@rtn6518 Meine Erfahrungen sehen hier durchaus anders aus, was sicher auch damit zu tun hat, dass ich aus der Videoproduktion komme und vielleicht auf andere Dinge achte, insbesondere was die Details und Encoding Qualität angeht. Es ist korrekt, dass bei sehr hohen Bitraten der Unterschied zwischen H264 und HEVC nicht mehr so auffällt. In der Tat ist ein 1080p/24fps Bild bei 50Mbit kaum zwischen H264 und HEVC zu unterscheiden. Aber H264 ist nicht für sehr hohe Auflösungen ab 4K konzipiert und wir haben es hier mit 5K und mehr zu tun. H264 z.B. tendiert dazu graue/rötliche Strukturen auszuwaschen und hat sichtbar weniger Detailschärfe. Selbst bei 150Mbit fällt das auf. HEVC ist grundsätzlich der deutlich effektivere Codec, egal bei welcher Auflösung. Nur fällt der Unterschied je nach Bildinhalt und Auflösung mal mehr oder weniger stark auf. Es kommt aber auch auf das Szenario, die Spiele und die verwendete Hardware an. Ich verwende immer Frame Bufferung was bedeutet, dass die Gesamtlatenz bei H264 und HEVC in fast allen Fällen identisch ist ("Difference ist almost zero!"). Lediglich auf älteren Systemen merke ich, dass der Latenzunterschied minimal größer wird. Ich habe zum Testen eine RTX 2070S, RTX 3060, RTX 3070 und RTX 3070Laptop, wobei letztere von der Gesamtleistung eher noch etwas unter der 2070S anzusiedeln wäre. Bei Spielen wie No Man's Sky, Alyx, Hubris etc. ist es völlig irrelevant ob die Latenz 40 oder 50ms ist. Und Reaktions-Spiele wie z.B. Tennis sind über wireless für mich eh nicht spielbar mit Ausnahme von den Oculus Store Spielen über Air Link, da hier eine sehr gute Motion-Prediction des Treibers implementiert ist, was Virtual Desktop einfach nicht bieten kann. Air Link funktioniert anders als Virtual Desktop was die Signalverarbeitung angeht. Dies zeigt sich vor allem bei Spielen, die extrem anspruchsvoll sind, entweder was die Gesamtleistung der GPU oder auch VRAM angeht. Air Link scheint mehr VRAM zu nutzen, was ich z.B. deutlich merke, wenn ich Half Life Alyx auf der RTX 3070 (8GB) in Ultra starte. Die gleiche Szenze wird über Air Link mit spürbar mehr VRAM Nachlade-Zyklen dargestellt als über Virtual Desktop. Das führt dazu, dass einige Texturen über Air Link in geringerer Auflösung dargestellt werden. Auch sieht man, dass das Bild bei gleicher Bitrate von 150Mbit über Air-Link mit H264 etwas unsauberer und ausgewaschener ist. Extrem wird es bei Spielen wie No Man's Sky, welches auf meiner RTX 3070 generell nicht ohne Frame Interpolation und DLSS flüssig läuft. Ich kann No Man's Sky bei eingeschaltete SSW in Virtual Desktop auf der Quest 2 in Ultra und auch auf der Pico 4 in Godlike bei 72Hz mit SSW (DLSS = Balanced, alles auf ENHANCED) flüssig spielen was vorher unmöglich war. Mir Air Link gibt es keine Chance in dieser Auflösung/Einstellung das Spiel auch nur ansatzweise flüssig zu bekommen, selbst bei manuell eingeschaltetem Mobile ASW. Für mich gibt es also allen Grund euphorisch über die aktuelle VD Version zu sein, denn ich kann jetzt in einer Qualität spielen, die vorher weder mit VD noch aktuell mit Air Link möglich war/ist.

[@MacInVR]

I was live streaming Into the Radius when my Pico died (forgot to attach the BoboVR battery) so switched straight from Pico 4 to Quest 2. My reaction said it all 😉

[@ProgrammistMusic]

@@MacInVR yeah, i saw that too. I actually had this situation once and was surprised that it worked at all, because the Pico 4 resolution being used by STEAM VR did not change even with the Quest 2 used while the game was still running after restarting Virtual Desktop. In fact the game did render in the wrong resolution, so the scaling also was off. If this happens in GodLike mode the Quest 2 also cannot handle the decoding and the game gets unplayable.

[@FuriousDevi]

You have to set VD to H265 and 150 mbit! The Link Cable has a higher latency because it transfers at a higher bitrate! More bitrate = more latency!

[@Chuckolicious]

So I’m a super Beat Saber addict. Doing it via PCVR, virtual desktop or air link have noticeable lag, while official link cable does not. Yea, I’m at a level where even a small difference is noticeable. But I’ve been just using modded stand alone for a while now. If I went back what do you think, cable or air?

[@MacInVR]

For Beat Saber on Expert+, definitely cable as you don't really move around too much. I.might have another alternative coming soon though so keep an eye on the channel 🤔😉

[@somemore9784]

Are you sure you have the videos the right way around? The VD looks way better visually from what im looking at

[@tech360gamer]

Does Oculus not use h.265 as default. I could be wrong but I do remember reading somewhere it can and sometimes does use h.265 as default.

[@ReeksofChees3]

I believe if you use the Link cable, it uses H.264 but if you use Air Link, then it uses H.265 iirc

[@knucklesgb3143]

Solid video, great graphics great knowledge of the subject absolutely unbiased and informative views. Brilliant.

[@MacInVR]

Thanks mate ☺️

[@legendp2011]

keep in mind, quest 1 and quest 2 will add around 20ms even over link cable, compared to a dedicated display port pcvr headset

[@legendp2011]

​@@rangerkayla8824 the psvr2 uses display port over usb-c. it's sending a full video signal. the ps5 usb-c port is more like a laptop thunderbolt port..........and that it was developed to send display port signal over it. the psvr2 would not work on most usb-c ports because the port needs to be able to out a display port signal. for example, whit an adapter..... you can connect a oculus rift s (display port headset) to a laptop that support usb-c to display port. but use the same usb-c to display port adapter on your desktop.... and the rift s will not work. not all usb-c ports are the same (and the way laptop/ps5 GPU handle the video signal is very different to desktops). quest 2 is using usb-c compression, works on any usb-c port. but does not use display port signal. the quest 2 compressed signal takes time for the pc to compress, and than more time for the headset to decompress). I have tested quest 1 and quest2 connected to a pc in beat saber. both fall short compared to my older oculus rift s. in my test the input lag on a quest 2 running at 120hz is higher than the input lag of a oculus rift s running at 80hz. and I found this noticeably effected my play in beat saber. edit: psvr2 is using display port over usb-c (and will only work with usb-c ports that offer display port over usb-c).

[@legendp2011]

​@@rangerkayla8824 I prefer wireless pcvr for anything that requires turning (half life alyx). however for games like pistol whip and beat saber, I definitely notice the latency...........even dropping the bitrate all the way to 20mbs at 120hz feels worse than my 80hz rift s. I have a dedicated 5ghz wifi router with line of site just for my quest headset. (have also tried over usb-c, and using both virtual desktop and airlink). Sony would have a problem with psvr2 becoming wireless. as the real time eye tracking in psvr2 requires ridiculously low latency to work with foveated rendering. wireless is great (currently looking at a pico 4 myself). but wired also has it's advantages. meta still internally use the rift s a lot (you can see in there behind the scenes videos on reality labs.). so hopefully a quest 3 or quest 3+ supports display port over usb-c......... otherwise I trust valve will release there next headset with both wireless and display port feature (just how long the wait will be I don't know. Valve Time).

[@prodriver_es5647]

I prefer virtual desktop instead of streaming assistant and cable with Iracing I don’t know why but I have huge better performance in Pico 4.

[@ThatGoth]

On my Meta Quest 3 I use Virtual Desktop WITH a £20 dual Powered 5m INIU Link Cable... Best of both worlds and no extra heat. I also use a dedicated Access Point for when I do go wireless for things like Beat Sabre where I could rip the cable off.

[@karlhungus545]

Has this been updated to take all of the updates to VD into account, and the existence of Quest 3?

[@MacInVR]

Yes, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZO8dadumbqAZ6M

[@karlhungus545]

@MacInVR That's not really a comparison video with link cable. Is WiFi 6e a requirement? My ISP is still on 5.

[@GitDatPC]

Virtual Desktop can't find my PC's on my dedicated router (no internet, so no lag) as of recently. It works if I use my primary internet connected router. Is it requiring an internet connection now? 🤔

[@GitDatPC]

After some Google'age, it looks like an internet connection is required for the initial launch of Virtual Desktop. Inconvenient but still free, so 🙂

[@HBOMB-nl9pw]

What has the most impact? Having your pc close to the router or your quest 3 headset close to your router?

[@MacInVR]

Q3 closer to your router, you can check the strength of your signal by looking top left on VD (should give mbps). 866mbps for wifi 5, 1200mbps for wifi 6 (can go as high 2400mbps with a 160hz router) and 2400mbps for wifi 6e.

[@AD-zc2ug]

My Samsung phone shows 2.4Gbps but VD show 1.2Gbps Is VD shows only download and no upload ? Is VD biterate when it set to 100 means its actually 200 ?

[@MOBEASTGAMING]

Great video Mac! I might have to grab one, I like that charging feature. Curious how it performs compared to metas cable. Plus for 16ft that's a steal. I agree though I'm used to not being tethered so it's hard.

[@tensefx4655]

Hey, do you find Virtual Desktop to be better than Air link?

[@MacInVR]

Personally, yes, but some people find some games run better on Air Link. Has a lot to do with your PC specs, wifi etc..

[@tensefx4655]

@@MacInVR Great vid and thanks for the reply! I'll give both a try for each game.

[@CalrissianRose]

During the driving game spacetime was active so the game was not actually running at the 90fps shown it was running at 45fps and interpolating to 90. The link cable was running at 90 and not dropping into interpolation so was actually running far better. Also why exclude airlink? Airlink has all the wireless advantages of VD with the performance of link cable and is in my opinion the best option.

[@MacInVR]

ASW and SSW were both active during the test, I mention it at the beginning of the video.

[@CalrissianRose]

@@MacInVR you had them both set to auto. Meaning it turns on when needed. When playing the driving game in VD the overlay was showing that SSW shifted from auto to ACTIVE meaning performance had dropped far enough below 90 for reprojection to kick in and was currently interpolating frames and was actually only rendering at 45fps. VD is confusing as when this happens it will still show the frame rate as 90. On the link side it was showing 90fps with no issues so it was not interpolating as when link slips into interpolation the frame rate graph drops to 45.

[@MacInVR]

Thanks for the information 👍

[@Chris-wq3pe]

Virtual desktop saved me from going insane after buying an AMD GPU for the first time after being team green for literally decades. All of a sudden I could not get link cable to connect any more, and Air link looked horrible. No matter the endless amount of tweaking I tried. I was really regretting buying this AMD GPU (Sapphire NItro 6800 XT 16GB) as it borked my VR - though my flatscreen games now kicked arse. This is mainly cause Meta's link apps only support Nvidia cards when it comes to utilizing the WAY better HEVC codec for streaming PCVR. Enter Virtual desktop, which you can select to use the HEVC codec with AMD cards and bypass all Oculus software - hey presto, I'm running blade and Sorcery on Ultra settings with everything bumped right up. Meta, I have to say your software absolutely sucks for Team Red users. Unbelievable a Multi-billion dollar corp can be so soundly trounced by an indy developer, but it shows they really don't care about PCVR.

[@rslorenzi10]

Great! I'll try virtual desktop. Same story here..... After years of Nvidia I bought a RX 6600 xt and I'm disappointed with VR performance until now.

[@capipj]

Hi i'm about to buy VD now I have a 7800XT. Do you still recomennd it? Or oculus software fixed that compatibility issue. Thanks in advance for your answer

[@SillyMonkeysLikeApples]

yeah I was on the same boat, 6800xt and got VD but did not looked as nice as link cable for my racing games, so downgraded to a 3070. Some ppl say its kind of working well now with a driver update but I am not gonna upgrade again, I spenda full week back then last year when I got the 6800xt and sometimes you just wanna plug and play

[@Axvo16]

I also bought a 6700 xt(sapphire pulse) and vr is really bad so if I buy virtual desktop it will be better?

[@SillyMonkeysLikeApples]

@@Axvo16 yeah it will look better, it will go from not playable to playable, but you will be leaving some performance on the table, check the new amd drivers tho, some ppl say its fixed

[@MOBEASTGAMING]

For me I just need something better than my Quest 2 to take full advantage of the fidelity and performance of my PC and VR setup. My headset is my bottle neck. Deckard where are you!?

[@splinket]

are you. able to use a link cable with virtual desktop?

[@MacInVR]

The whole idea of Virtual Desktop is to play wirelessly, unless it's for charging purposes, then you'd use Meta's Link Software anyway 😉

[@splinket]

@@MacInVR aww so it wouldn't provide a smoother experience? 😭 sad Thank for answering

[@MacInVR]

Virtual desktop doesn't need a cable. It uses your wifi. What type of games do you play?

[@splinket]

@@MacInVR mostly beatsaber on steam but airlink suucccksss so badly with my connection and it's unplayable because of how chopy it is and how every frame is needed in that game as well as vr chat and I'm going to get into Skyrim vr just ordered a new cable to have a better experience because a cable worked better in the past for me but a friend told me about virtual desktop and since I already ordered the cable. I wanted to see if I can still somehow use it and figure out if it's worth spending the 25 usd for virtual desktop

[@MrRichieface]

I just moved to an apartment, now my wireless is so crap, I'm so sad about it I don't want to go back to wired, I've tried everything but it's just not getting a good connection, most likely because of busy interference of other apartments

[@simon84uk]

I think that's a fair assessment of it all, seated might as well use the cable (if your PC is within range), standing it just gets in the way even with the clever routing systems. I have the official cable, bought it when I ordered the Q2 at launch reveal, but never got on with it and used only a handful of times. I really like VD, I find it a lot better and more reliable than Air Link generally. Especially within say the last 6 months it has really improved and is my go-to.

[@MrDelvey]

"The official link cable is £89" It is, but an £8 job from Amazon works just as well

[@jamesleegte]

You are the you tuber that made me decide to switch to VD and one of the many reasons I’ll always be grateful to your channel. I switched on the 1st of December 2022 and VD destroys my official oculus link cable in every department. I bought it on a daily sale and it’s the best and cheapest upgrade I’ve ever made for my quest 2. VD is a genuine massive upgrade for wireless pcvr! I do think you need to bin off your tp link ax router as they are not recommended and I have two of them and they do not perform or offer the consistency to the same level as my ASUS RT AX55. You could even try the TP Link Archer C6.

[@MacInVR]

Thanks for the kind words and yes, I am in need of an upgrade but may wait for wifi7 🙂

[@Kartoens]

The virtual desktop looked sharper from my end

[@BluerayDriver]

Hey @MacInVR I am curious about the charging function of the cable. Did you use the original Quest 2 charger with 5V/2A (10W) or did you use another charger with 5V/3A (15W)? Because in the amazon reviews a lot of people say, that the headset doesn't charge or hold the charge of the headset at all. What experience did you have with the charging function? Thanks for the help mate. Keep up the game 👍

[@Craig89Lfc]

i have a pico 4 and use the charger that they gave me for the pico but i have used a fast charger that i bought for my phone which has worked just as well

[@justicegaminginc]

can't even get air link to work, I'd rather not have to pay to get performance I already have access to with a cable, if you are spacially aware enough the link cable is a minor inconvenience at worst

[@MacInVR]

It's personal preference I guess, I prefer the freedom of VD but if you prefer the link cable, then that is fine as well. We are all different 😎

[@justicegaminginc]

@@MacInVR Yeah, I mean sure there are some minor differences between all 3 and would be nice to not be tethered to a cable but I'm also in a unique situation where we don't have the greatest internet hence why air link straight up doesnt work anyways and would probably be the same for VD and unless AL or VD get proper optimization for lower end internet solutions its not really a viable option for me

[@MacInVR]

Okay, big point. VD does not care about your internet speed, it's the strength of your wifi that's important. You need to look at your router for a solution 🤔

[@justicegaminginc]

@@MacInVR There is also the problem that VD could cause my router to restart the connection upon opening which would render it unusable. I say this because of games like but not limited to Destiny 2 and Valheim do this and though its not a guarantee that VD will, it also costs money and I'd rather not spend money on something that I can't guarantee will work

[@WorldHayes-VR]

Thanks I prefer link cable and ethernet connection I'm not sold on anything wireless I'll give it a few more years

[@mamoonmansoor01]

My Virtul desktop freezes after 20 mins of game play could you please help. My system. I7 12700kf Rtx 4070 super 32gb ram Vifi router 1200mb 5g geting 780mbps -900mbps I am playing Jadi fallen order. In 2d. Everything was working fine but since i upgraded to Windows 11 and a whole new system, the games freezes in Quest 3 but not on the pc.

[@SjaakSchulteis]

I tried with cables and for me there is no way I play MY games with them. I used Virtual Desktop already with the Oculus Go 5 years ago and now with both Quest and Pico. The performance is outstanding and sometimes I switch between computers (I have three computers connected to it)... all of that impossible or at least not easy to do with cable.

[@SjaakSchulteis]

@@rangerkayla8824 I have beatsaber on Steam, Quest2 and from the Riftstore. The latter is the best, concerning latency and versatility.

[@SjaakSchulteis]

@Ranger Kayla The Rift version has a lot less latency than the Steam version, that's one. I noticed that after I used the Pico4 and my old GTX1080. Now I have a RTX3080 which significantly improved performance. There is one major to me important difference: all songs I purchased on the Quest2 are free for the Rift, but not for Steam. But like Steam I can play custom made maps with the Rift, without modding. That's why I prefer the Rift version. Besides, I still have my old pc connected via Virtual Desktop. I always try new maps with my old pc, before I sort them out and copy the best to my new pc. By the way have you tried Rammstein? Some of their songs are very well mapped.

[@SjaakSchulteis]

@Ranger Kayla That is incredible. The maximum I can do is expert. But in my defense I'm probably a lot older than you, so my body doesn't react that quick. In my case, I'm thriving on what I can get. Beatsaber is one of my favorites, not the one and only. Yes, the Quest2 is less demanding than the Pico4. That and I like the controllers with the kiwi design covers more to play beatsaber with than with the Pico4 controllers. Those are better in most games. Do you use this name also on your uploaded maps?

[@SjaakSchulteis]

@@rangerkayla8824 Wow... that is good news! You are older than me and can play in expert+ ... so I can still hope to do that one day 😂😂. I'm trying. Really I'm glad to see people older than 40 doing this... my two bycicle buddies are both mid seventy, both ten years older than me, but they are slowing down... and VR.. I know only one other guy here (in Hua Hin Thailand) that does VR.

[@theholypeanut473]

Is it just me or does the VD look better in every game? Why is that? like it just looks so much more colorful and contrastful, or is that just the recorder?

[@BLACKSYNTH]

on my Pico 4 I have an even more absurd 20GBPS 100W USB-C link 4.5 meter cable that goes to a 40GBPS female to female Link adapter that goes to a USB-C Ethernet dongle with power pass through thats plugged in for unlimited power with zero battery drain. There is no streaming compression artifacts visible.

[@Teckno77]

Hi, Looking at going for the Pico 4, I have a laptop with usb-c port and a RTX 3060 do i just need a Long High Speed USB-C or do I als need an Ethernet to USB-C adaptor to keep power while playing? Also what adapter are you using please?

[@MacInVR]

Kiwi Design do a USB 3.0 to USB C cable that has an additional USB C port for extra power and limitless play. I use a KKCOBVR headstrap with a 10,000mah detachable magnetic battery which gives at least 6 hours of gaming.

[@Teckno77]

@@MacInVR Hi yeah I just got one it's great, but I'm really on the fence as I just can't get the pico controllers to work with elite dangerous even using streaming ass. Any ideas, the rift s controllers worked in it no problem.

[@MacInVR]

I used a HOTAS for Elite Dangerous so I've never tried them, sorry 😞

[@randommonk1]

no way virtual desktop looks better but what good ethernet yall recommend for it? i dont wanna always play with lag

[@Endersans_gaming]

I need help why is my virtual desktop acting like a potato when i have a good pc please help

[@MacInVR]

It will probably be your wifi connection. Do you have a 5ghz connection? Do you have a dedicated router for VD? I've done a load of videos on this issue so check out my channel 😉

[@HaykAmirbekyanTKD]

a more honest comparison would be between Virtual Desktop and Display port.

[@MacInVR]

Which headsets have display port? Pico Neo 3 Link that nobody bought (except me)

[@HaykAmirbekyanTKD]

Rift, Rift S? Reverb G2? Samsug Odyssey? Bigscreen beyond? @@MacInVR

[@MacInVR]

Good point but I don't own any of those headsets anymore 😕

[@steve_ire321]

@@MacInVR PSVR2

[@desperado1265]

should have turn video bitrate to the highest available i believe its 160mbps and no artifacts and the latency is still super low imo

[@rickaron7593]

Wired died for me for quite awhile

[@GreekSIMRACING]

Wired for me using pico3 link is for simracing or flight ✈️ sims.VD is used by children to play on the living room allinone sports.Native DP cable can not be comparison with wireless.

[@snowcathu]

Can I ask why you used 75 Mbps VR Bitrate in VD instead of the max 150? (I have a Pico 4 and use it at max with a little worse PC without a problem, and was wondering why the 75Mbps.)

[@LuMo1980]

It heavily depends of the game and your machine e.g. I get unplayable stuttering in HL:Alyx when setting the bitrate to 150Mbps with a Ryzen 5800x and a RTX4090 but it becomes butter smooth at 100Mbps without any visual degradation that I can detect. May be caused by the encoding overhead or the fact I'm using the built-in wifi6 AP of my motherboard.

[@MacInVR]

Pretty much what Ludovico said, I've found that capping my bitrate at 75mbps just makes everything run smoothly. Everyone must find their balance 🙂

[@snowcathu]

@@MacInVR and @Ludovico Morreale Thanks for the reply! So if it works, there is no point in changing it. I thought it might decrease Latency or something. There are so many possible settings in VR it is confusing. (Like Resolution in VD/SteamVR/etc...)

[@MacInVR]

Just play around, you can't break anything and if it all goes 'Pete Tong' just dial it back again 😂

[@aside30]

@@MacInVR and that's proof why the cable wins. Have a look because your bitrate is 200mbps on the cable

[@siekoch]

I bought Pico 4 and i'm very disapointed. I'm using Quest 2 from one month for PCVR with USB3 cable. I spent a lot of time to find out the best configuration (FPS and Quality). And now a lot of YT and internet hype for Pico 4 with Virtual Desktop (aka game changer and so on..) It's a bullshit for me. I've bought Pico 4 few days ago for better FOV, resolution and overall "image quality". Tested everything (WiFi6, USB-C etehernet card, USB3 cable, Streaming Assistant and Virtual Desktop (Godlike on my RTX 4090). Sorry, there is no way to have even close what i have on Quest 2 with OpenXR Toolkit and Open Composite with USB3 cable (I mean FPS and overall image quality not FOV of course). Now I will return my Pico 4, stay with Quest 2 and in the time where I wait for Quest 3 I will try HP Reverb G2 V2 because have also better spec then Q2 but can work same straight way like Q2 (OXRT, OC) without this sh**ty heavy SteamVR which Pico 4 use. Try your configuratiion with Virtual Desktop instead Streaming Assistant and You will see much better quality and performance, yes it's true. But again, for me even VD it's not to close what i've got from OXRT and OC. I wanted to have the same quality and performance on Pico 4, and even better due to the spec, but it's not possible until Pico 4 will not fully natively supports/uses Open XR.

[@senzuriko87]

if you are below 1000 mbps on vd use a link cable

[@ronm6585]

Thanks Mac. 🍺🍺

[@MacInVR]

Cheers Ron 🍻

[@fo5zie275]

Why did you not use virtual desktop for both tests?

[@MacInVR]

Because I was testing a wireless solution against a wires solution

[@fo5zie275]

@@MacInVR Yup, and Virtual desktop dose both.

[@HBOMB-nl9pw]

Type r yours in the background??

[@thegaminggemini317]

I hope quest 3 will be better with PCVR than q2

[@Hen3349]

so my wifi sucks and im forced to use a link cable ;(

[@MacInVR]

Pick up a cheap wifi 5 (802.11 AC) router for $30 & use that for virtual desktop 😉

[@aabc84]

I love that t shirt

[@MacInVR]

Saw John Carmack wearing it on Joe Rogan Show so had to buy one 😂

[@dudem5447]

Thanks Mac! I use both depending on the game, as you said.

[@Lingerminator]

Wired PCVR will always rule

[@taky1636]

is it just me or does virtal desktop look way better in every game

[@Aku77777]

I play in Virtual Desktop on GOD LIKE MODE with my i9 13900k and RTX 4090 Pc and Pico 4. It pisses all over any cable VR setup. You need to upgrade your Pc and try GOD LIKE MODE on Virtual Desktop mate.

[@MacInVR]

It's an expensive year, PS VR2 and a new GPU 😫

[@ДиДи-м3ю]

Do not forget about the quality of the picture, in VD it is much worse

[@MacInVR]

Totally disagree. With the new snapdragon game super resolution mode, it's actually as good if not better. Have you actually used VD? I'm guessing not?

[@nigaudlotovrbenchmarkandvi313]

75 mbps...😱

[@MacInVR]

It runs more smoothly for me when capped to 75mbps

[@ProgrammistMusic]

@@MacInVR i guess there is an issue with the wireless network / router then. If you have a dedicated Wifi6 Router which is able to provide a stable signal you should be able to play at 150Mbits absolutely smoothly.

[@ReeksofChees3]

Even at 150mbps on HEVC, in dark areas, I can still notice the compression and it looks blocky IMO

[@ProgrammistMusic]

@@ReeksofChees3 what i can see is color banding due to the limited color space. But this is only visible on relatively flat areas with very minimal structures. I do not notice or care about these effects very much, to be honest. But it's also important to know which GPU is being used, since AMD GPUs do not have the best encoding quality compared to NVIDIA.

[@MacInVR]

I think I need a router upgrade, it is wifi 6 but it's a TP-LINK Archer AX10 and they're not particularly well regarded

[@MevRB19]

Clueless!

[@aybarsp.5822]

Made the performance even worse, this is the last time I'm trusting some random small channel. Sorry for my attitude but if someone's advice makes my experience on an expensive device worse then perhaps they should just not be eligible to make content.

[@MacInVR]

What made the performance worse? You weren't specific enough?

[@aybarsp.5822]

@@MacInVR The settings you advised people to change, I changed them according to my specs and they got terrible and now even though I reverted the settings it isn't the same as it was at start. I'm experiencing major framedrops while trying to play steam games.

[@MacInVR]

There is a reset to default button on the bottom right. If you make settings changes and it breaks VD, just hit that 💯

[@gtamediaproductions1]

I am losing patience with all this garbage.